132: End of the Day

End of the Day

Colorado, US base main military base, the next day.

Kai walked out of the cargo plane.

"We've surely done a hard mission this time…" Michelle walked beside him while stretching her body as if she was tired from this mission.

"Indeed. Some time off would be nice." Tasha appeared in the opposite direction of Michelle, glancing at Kai with a hidden intention. 

Kai closed his eyes for a few seconds before nodding his head with a smile. "Some days off would be nice."

"I agree," Michelle and Tasha answered at the same time.

Kai smiled before turning around to inform Evan, albeit…

"Huh? What did you say? You were lucky that my group was around your place. If not, you would have already died," Isabelle snarled. 

"My leader's shield is not so easily broken! Even without your help, we would have been able to get out of the way pretty quickly!" His eyebrows twitched as he shouted back. "You already saw how powerful his shield was in the group battle."

As if it was a good counter, Isabelle couldn't rebuke that claim. Even after receiving her full power, Kai's shield was still intact. She gnashed her teeth and changed the topic, "Then, what about when your leader asked me to help him defeat the lobster and those other magical beasts?"

"He was just using the most efficient way to end the battle. By the looks of the battle state, we could have just bought a little more time until the reinforcements arrived," Evan shrugged. 

Meanwhile, Michelle glanced at Kai with confusion while watching these two. "Why are they fighting?"

"It's nothing special." Kai shook his head with a smile. "Did their family have any relationships whatsoever?"

"No, I've never heard about it. Isabelle's family is around our Graham family's level. On the other hand, Evan's family is one or two levels lower than our family. From what I know, there's no relation between these two families." Michelle closed her eyes as if she was recalling a piece of memory. "Though, if I recall correctly, these two were from the same school before transferring to our school."

"Heh…" Kai was amused as he grinned. "This is interesting."

"Oh. Now that I think about it, it's really something hilarious. I can see why you thought Evan was interesting back in Prince Rupert and even asked me to investigate his background." Michelle chuckled.

Tasha silently observed the fight between Evan and Isabelle as if she was watching a soap drama between a couple. 

"Though I'm not so sure about it, I'll just let them have their time." Kai smiled.

"Still, you haven't answered my question. Why would they fight like this? Who instigated it?" Michelle asked.

"It started last night. Isabelle came to Evan and bragged about her achievement. Even with Evan's patience, he could no longer hold it and snapped, resulting in this fight." Kai shrugged. "As for why she would brag to Evan… I don't think I need to answer the question. Surprisingly, Evan also rebuked her."

Michelle and Tasha chuckled before noticing that Kai already walked away.

"Let's go home first," Kai said. At the same time, he wondered where the vehicle that would take them home was.

A few minutes after the landing of their cargo plane, the next plane also landed. Michael stepped out and quickly walked toward Kai. 

"Kai, come here first." Michael stopped a few meters from them before calling for Kai to come.

Kai exchanged looks with Tasha and Michelle before walking toward Michael.

Michael grabbed him before whispering, "I'm sure you already know about the secret… but don't talk about it to anyone. Even if you want to ask your teacher, ask her when you're alone with her.

"With how mysterious they are, the fewer people know, the better. After all, we can't let others know that there are legends like mermaids or talking animals."

"Don't worry, I know the weight of the information. I won't easily blabber such a thing." Kai nodded, assuring him.

After getting the affirmation from Kai, he sighed. "Anyway, with this mission, your group will surely enter the top 100 and get your personal helicopter. Just make sure it doesn't break since the state has decided to concentrate its resources on military transportation. We can build that many, but if one gets destroyed, it would still deal a powerful blow to our pocket."

"I was wondering where you could find the money to build that many helicopters…"

"As you already know, in fights against magical beasts, we need mobility as our top priority. That's why we're not making any tanks or other similar things and instead focus on transportation since it's the best for such situations… And since when did I say money?" Michael smirked.

Kai tilted his head in confusion before slowly realizing what he meant. "Resources?"

"Haha… it seems you've gotten the answer. That's right. With the condition of our planet right now, we can easily grab other countries' resources. Of course, it would also mean hard missions for the soldiers, but the gains are still worth it… It can be said that we've been centering the resources from the countries around us to build a giant base, and I'm sure that other bases also did it like that.

"Let's talk about United Asia. They must have gathered a lot of things from Korea and China. Even though they were fighting on the border of China, if you closely observe them, you'll be able to see several small-scale invasions to acquire resources which were then transported with cargo planes or military helicopters.

"That is also another reason why we don't build many tanks." Michael grinned and patted Kai's shoulder. "Anyway, you should go back and rest. Go to the first gate of this base. My butler is waiting for you there. As for Evan and Eagle Group, your respective families are waiting for you at the second gate."

"All right." He nodded. 

"Well then, see you later. I still need to see the reports. Ah, it sucks to be a family head like this… too many jobs," Michael walked away while complaining.

After watching him leave for a few seconds, Kai turned around and walked to Tasha and Michelle. "Our transportation is waiting for us at the first gate."

Tasha and Michelle exchanged looks and nodded. 

Then, Kai shouted to Evan and Isabelle. "I don't know why you two keep fighting each other like a couple, but your respective families are waiting for you at the second gate."

"We are not!" Evan and Isabelle rebuked him at the same time. 

"Whatever." Kai shrugged before looking at Evan. "I'm sure we won't have a mission for the time being… or at least until the middle of December, so you can do whatever you want. Whether you still want to hang out in our usual camp or have a date, you're free for a month."

"Understood." Evan nodded. 

"Heh… How about you start training your physical ability? That way, you won't become a hindrance to your group in the next mission." Isabelle smirked as she teased him once again.

"I have been training." Evan snorted. 

"Then, why don't you show it? You were still a hindrance on the battlefield."

"Tch. I shouldn't have healed your teammates." Evan gnashed his teeth.

Watching from the sidelines, Isabelle's teammates could only smile, understanding this word fight. They knew about Isabelle's little backstory and could relate to why she became like this, so they just watched them from the side. 

Kai shrugged. "I've told you, so I'm going now."

Without waiting for them to reply, Kai slipped away and grabbed Michelle and Tasha with him.

They walked toward the first gate, searching for Michael's butler, albeit with such a butler, a car suddenly arrived in front of them.

The butler came out to open the car for them. "Please."

They nodded. 

The drive to Kai's house was less than fifteen minutes. Tasha observed his expression and said, "I'll prepare the bath for you."

"You can use it first."

"Nah, I still have something to do. Besides, mom and dad aren't here, so I need to call them first." Tasha waved her hand. 

A few minutes later, she told Kai that the bath was ready. 

Kai entered the bathroom and took off his clothes before entering the bath. Feeling the relaxing hot bath, his mind found peace. 

He looked at the ceiling. The memory of the previous battle resurfaced at this time. The focus was not on how he brought four thousand people to victory against all the odds, but how he led more than a thousand soldiers to their death.

"A path of sacrifice…" Kai raised his hand like he wanted to grab the sky. "I didn't put a thought to this because I was occupied with the battle, but those who died surely must have a family…"

His hand started shaking. Even though he was a bit indifferent to matters like this, it still shook his mind. After all, no matter how big his achievement was, he was only a student. Even in a world like this, a normal high school student would surely have doubts in their heart after sending more than a thousand people to their death.1

Then, another memory flashed in his mind. He muttered to himself, "Is this why the protectors said we're foolish? What's the planet's shrill? Have we been doing something wrong this whole time? 

"...Should I believe what they said?"

Kai held his hands, noticing them shaking. Michelle's dream also entered his mind. 

"A hero, huh… in a path of sacrifice, could that still be called a hero?" Kai paused for a minute before muttering, "I shouldn't think about this. Just like how she supports me, I'll also support her wish. If everything turns out to be wrong, then I'll be there for her to receive the punishment."

In the bath, Kai thought about a lot of things, and it was not until an hour passed that he finally came out.

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